Child Friendly Schools

Creating child friendly schools is an international movement that encourages schools to operate in the best interests of children. Child friendly schools not only help children realize their right to a basic education but also provide quality educational experiences. A child friendly school is child-focused and child-centered. These schools promote inclusion and help children learn what they need to learn, while teaching them how to learn. They ensure a healthy and safe learning environment, eliminate gender stereotypes, and encourage child participation. Ministries of education, development agencies, and schools should all understand and support the basic characteristics of a child friendly school and work toward incorporating these characteristics into all child learning environments.

To learn more...

UNICEF Documentaries on Child-Friendly Schools Called Rising Voices

This series features six documentary films focusing on the personal stories of students in different countries and contexts in which child-friendly school policies are being implemented. The individual films were shot across the world, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Egypt, Ghana, Nicaragua, and the Sudan. The purpose of the series is to show the depth and breadth of the impact of child-friendly schools, as they have spread across 90 countries since their inception.

Rising Voices Series and Other Videos on Education

Go to ViewChange.org, the next generation Web site that uses the power of video to tell stories about real people and progress in global development.

UNICEF's Child-Friendly Schools Portal

UNICEF's Child-Friendly Schools Portal provides more information on child-friendly schools and short two-minute advocacy videos based on the Rising Voices series.

Child Friendly School Manual, 2009

In the course of UNICEF’s work during the past decade, the child-friendly school (CFS) model has emerged as the organization’s signature means to advocate for and promote quality education for every girl and boy. This manual serves as a reference document and practical guidebook to help countries implement child friendly schools.